


Soak and Soothe

by donutsweeper



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bathing/Washing, Comfort No Hurt, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:27:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24061348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/donutsweeper/pseuds/donutsweeper
Summary: It had been a long couple of days and all Natasha wanted was a chance to relax.
Relationships: Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov
Comments: 14
Kudos: 26
Collections: Hurt Comfort Exchange 2020





	Soak and Soothe

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lionessvalenti](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lionessvalenti/gifts).



> Thanks to GlassesOfJustice for the beta!

Natasha was annoyed to find out that somehow, despite liaising with the locals after they finished with the mission, Steve had beaten her back to their safehouse. To be fair, it wasn't that he'd gotten to their current base of operations before she did that frustrated her, but rather that he had commandeered the main bathroom before she'd been able to. There was nothing wrong, per se, with the other bathroom; it had a shower that was perfectly serviceable but… but it had been a long few days with several rather physical fights and she had been looking forward to a relaxing soak and the only tub was in the main bathroom. 

Oh well. Just because, as far as she was aware, Steve had never taken a long bath while on assignment previously, that didn't mean that he wasn't entitled to one now. Who was she to judge if he wanted one or not? She sighed. It looked like some stretching, a long shower as hot as she could stand it, and maybe a few painkillers or a shot of vodka or two would have to do. 

Over the sound of the running water she thought she heard him humming something softly to himself as she walked down the hall but she couldn't be certain. "Well, at least _someone's_ enjoying themselves," she muttered to herself as she poked about in the linen closet, searching for some decent sized towels. After finally managing to unearth two—they were smaller than she liked, but would have to do—she headed to the rear of the house but as she passed the main bathroom the door cracked open and Steve popped his head out, a cloud of steam wafting out of the room behind him. 

"There you are," he said, a soft smile on his face. "I was wondering what was taking you so long."

Tired and sore, her responding, "Been busy. You know what it's like, another day, another murderous dictator to take down but it makes it hard to be back at a reasonable hour," came out a bit brusquer than it normally would, but Steve didn't seem fazed by it.

"You're here now, that's what matters. Come in."

"Excuse me?"

"In. Now. Come on." When she didn't move he waved her inside and explained, "I got everything ready for you."

Even on a good day it was hard to say no to Steve when he was having one of his overly earnest golden retriever moments and it hadn't been a good day. Besides, she had to admit, she was curious, so she followed him in. 

The drab bathroom had been transformed. Candles lined the room, illuminating the bathtub in a warm glow. There was the vague aroma of… "is that sage?"

"I saw some growing in the garden of the house up the road," he said in a way that made it seem like it was supposed to be an explanation of some kind but really didn't actually explain a thing.

Natasha dimly recalled seeing the large, overgrown sprawling mess of what might have been a garden under a lot of weeds when they had cased the area originally. "And you raided it for sage—"

"And parsley."

Peering in the tub she spotted some of that familiar bright green leaf bobbing here and there amid the bubbles. "So you raided it for sage and parsley… why?"

"Parsley can help with bruising and sage with muscle strain. You took a couple of good hits when those lackeys swarmed us and I saw you crash into that rebar when the walkway collapsed; just because you got up right away doesn't mean it didn't hurt." 

Natasha shook her head. Steve had taken custody of the lead scientist and had been containing him while simultaneously fighting several guards when she'd taken those hits. His battle awareness always amazed her. "And the bubbles?"

He shrugged. "You like bubble baths. I couldn't find anything fancy so it's just soap with a drizzle of honey." At her raised eyebrow he added, "aside from its antibacterial qualities, it's supposed to soften skin."

Stepping into her personal space he reached out slowly, telegraphing his movements, and lay his hand on her zipper. He waited until she nodded at his unasked question and then began helping her out of her outfit. She would have been able to do it on her own—in the past she'd managed when shot, stabbed, poisoned, half frozen and just generally sporting injuries ranging from incredibly serious to merely minor like she was currently—but it was nice not to have to. 

Once she'd stripped, he offered her his hand to help her step into the tub. It could have been awkward, uncomfortable; it usually was when a male teammate was faced with the naked female form, but it was never like that with Steve. He didn't avert his eyes, but he also didn't ogle. He just… saw her. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Let's clean out these scrapes first," he said after she'd settled into the tub, gesturing with a washcloth for her to lean forward so he could work on her back.

Instead of commenting that she hadn't even noticed there was anything bad enough to be worth needing cleaning there or that he should just give her the cloth so she could do it herself she just sighed her most put upon sigh, knowing he'd know it was in jest, and shifted so he could reach easier. 

He started by sluicing water over her shoulder and back to rinse out the abrasions before grabbing the soap and working up good lather. "Ready?" he asked, but didn't wait for a reply before beginning. His touch was gentle, feather-light, and she barely felt it. After working for a bit he hummed his approval, cleaned off the area with fresh water, guiding her to stretch out and lie back against a soft towel he'd hung against the end of the bathtub. "You just relax," he murmured as he alternated between soaping up and massaging her right shoulder, "I've got you." Steve began working his way down her arm to her hand and then repeated the process with her left side. 

After that he sat back against the tiled wall and dangled his arm into the water so his hand rested against the side of the tub right next to her calf. It was a subtle, simple reminder of his presence, to ensure he was there, alert and on guard, allowing her to close her eyes and relax. After a few moments she let herself drift almost to the point of dozing, letting the warm water do what it could to ease her aches and pains.


End file.
